Of all the movies to come out of Sundance this year few made as big a splash as the comedy written by and starring Mindy Kaling, LATE NIGHT. The comedy about a young woman hired to bring a fresh voice to a late-night talk show starring Emma Thompson's Katherine Newbury had everyone talking at the film fest, and now a new trailer for the movie is here to give you a little taste of the movie Amazon scooped up for a cool $13 million.
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That was the highest amount paid for U.S.-only distribution at the festival, and it's understandable why they paid such a hefty price for the comedy. It received rave reviews coming out of the festival, where our own Chris Bumbray gave it a solid 7/10. The movie has maintained positive reviews and currently has a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes about a month before its June 7 release. Directed by Nisha Ganatra the movie also stars Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow, Denis O'Hare, Reid Scott and Amy Ryan.
As a workplace comedy, the movie looks like a heartfelt, funny story with some relevant themes about women working in such a male-dominated field as show business *and* comedy. Kaling and Thompson appear to have some great chemistry, and the former has been cranking out hilarious material since working on THE OFFICE as a star an writer, so I’m all here for her getting such a big movie break. Bonus points for getting Thompson in the other lead role, so come June this is sure to be one non-blockbuster to check out.
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Here’s the synopsis:
After almost 30 years, a groundbreaking talk-show host suspects she may soon be losing her coveted seat on late-night television unless she manages a game-changing transformation in Late Night, the first feature film from Emmy-nominated writer and producer Mindy Kaling. Legendary talk-show host Katherine Newbury (Oscar® winner Emma Thompson) is a pioneer in her field. The only woman ever to have a long-running program on late night, she keeps her writers’ room on a short leash â?? and all male. But when her ratings plummet and she is accused of being a “woman who hates women,” Katherine puts gender equality on her to-do list and impulsively hires Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling), a chemical plant efficiency expert from suburban Pennsylvania, as the first and only female on her writing staff. With rumors swirling that Katherine is being replaced by a younger, hipper male host, she demands that the writers make her funny and relevant again. A lifelong fan, Molly is determined to prove she’s not just a diversity hire, but the one person who can turn her idol’s career around. Going against everything Katherine has staked her reputation on, she urges her to make the show more contemporary, authentic and personal, a move that could make Molly’s career â?? or send her back to the chemical plant for good.
LATE NIGHT is in theaters June 7.